/.' I'v: -Q- THE ^ DAILY NEAYSPAPEK: f? I i 3 : (1 Sw> :l THE HISTORY oh lis d 1>1{()DUCTI0N AND DISTJIIBUTION. f^e-prifiled f?'0?ti fhc ''.Yew 7)onii/ifo?i Mo?ithfy." MON'IRKAI. : JOHN DOUOALL AND SON, 3.3 TO 37 HONAVKNTURK STkKKT, 3t:j.-JAUVrf MtAltmMMLllT ' ^ IH78. :g:;jK^i^_... © t i V) \ 1) «t« ■^*>* ANNUAL PRIZE LIST. OPEN KOK ('OMPE'l\TIt)N UNJ'li. JANUAKY 16th, 1879. (rOI.I) WaTOII. Skwjso Mach[ne. Silver Watch. i :> aildition t" thf winivUer luemiuniM which we offer and wliich every body may get, there is ji prize of a La Wh or GentleinanV G(*Id Watch. a Newing Machine, SIBver Watch, and a Hniall Patent Churn. The pei-non Hi'cnrin<,' the largest huui in BiilworiptionH to tlie Witness Publications before Jan- nary 15th, 1870, will receive a Folid (iold Watch, Huitable for either a lady or a gentleman. The i>er8on sendin'; in the second largest amount in sulwcriptions to the Witnksk Publications will receive a first-class Sewing Machine. To the person thjrd on the list, a magnificent ''olid Silver watch will lie sent. To the perstm fourth on the list will be sent a small jiafent churn, suitable for a farmer who has a small ntimber of cows. The Churn is most shnple in construction, and is therefore easilv worked, and is not apt to get out of order. Renewals, ua well as new subscriptions count in for the above nientioned jrtizes. IN DOUGALL & SON, Montreal. JOHi in making; up imr Fall list of j)remiumr; wo j have tried to introduce as many new articles as I jM)S8ible, but owing to the request of many ..f j our last year's workers who did not succeeUH SK iTE, which retails at $2.7r.. For $ir> in new subscrijrtions we will send l)y express n pair of the celebrated steel and iron welrled EUREK \ ( '1 .UB SK ATE, worth $4. {CnnUtiiK'l ,t„ J', mi L".l. I THE DAILY NEWSPAPEK: ■^''■■'' . THE HISTORY OF ITS PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION. ^e-printed from the '^JVew Dominion Monthly, >f ■ r MONTREAL : JOHN DOUG.ALL AND SON, Jtl TO 37 BONAVENTURE STREET, 1878. ">'-/■ i. c,r H --.rrifiT; 'O iu lif Hit <■'. «i»>^ v\A' fv'- ■ '♦■^.-♦w • V:'. ■V>*A <', ■ lf'''-'\\ ^■n ,,'■' i>. 1.'/ V. »■■,.' ': ,■." U.I '■' ■ ' ' ':""' THE DAI T. Y N E W S P A P E R THE "WITNESS HUILDING. were good Guttenburg and Faust printers. Their beautiful work still re- mains in proof that the moneyed partner was. not in, league with the Evil One, even were it not known that the first book which issued from their press was the Bible. Notwithstanding that it has often been asserted, and may be reiterated for centuries to come, that the fruit of the printing press is irreligion, the pages of the Mazarin Bible — the earliest printed book known — remain still perfect and bright as the morn that work issued complete from the press, four hundred years ago and more, — an evidence that in the minds of the pioneers of the art, good, and not evil, was the controlling influence. And the history of printing ever since shows that the bright days of the art> in any part of the world whatsoever^ have been ever contemporaneous with increasing prosperity, intelligence and progress in the more important things of life. Time had not reached its greatest value in the anticipatory days of the art ; the world had not then been scoured to find the materials where- Thk Daily Nkwspapek. with to make cheap ink and cheap paper. The early printers, in their work, had cither to rival the exquisite manuscripts of the monkish tran- scribers of written knowledge, or be considered far behind in the " art preservative of all arts." Everything was done conscientiously in those days, and with the greatest care. The in- ventors were the printers, and their hearts were in their work. Printers then looked upon their productions as Works of art. Their competition did net come in the shape of speed in pro- duction, nor lowness of price, but in that of excellence of material and beauty of execution ; and when a man paid a fortune for a book, he ex- pected that it would be an heirloom to be handed from generation to genera- tion, to the end of time, — the same vol- ume telling its story to grandfather, father, son, and grandson, gaining value with each generation and sanctity from the mere fact of age. Now it is different. Rapidity of pro- duction, novelty, and above all cheap- ness, are the leading characteris- tics to be aimed at by the publisher who would reach the public. These latter attainments are found in highest combination in that wonder of the present age, the daily newspaper. There is probably nothing so com- mon of which so little is known, or about which there is so much curiosity, as the newspaper. Men read it every day ; they abuse it, threaten to give it up, praise it, advertise their wants in it, write to it, search it to see if their letters are in it, call it hard names, pay for it year after year, — and still to ninety-nine out of a hundred of them its production is a complete mystery. To them it is a business office, a news- boy, or a post-office, who are simply carriers, and that is all. It is the ex- emplification of effect without cause, — an impersonal institution with plenty of vitality, and sometimes even with genius ; but it is always mysterious I even to those most intimately connected with it. The whole of its secrets arc known to no single individual. Its personality is swallowed up in the editorial wk, into whose depths no man penetrates, and even the inquisi- tion of the law never gets behind the innermost curtain. The only name pertaining to it is that of the publisher, the accoucheur, who becomes responsible for its daily birth. For the benefit of those who have no opportunity of visiting a city print- ing office and would know some- thing of how such a one is a ranged and regulated, and also for the further satistaction of those who have visited an office of this description and learned only enough to make them desire to know more, we will endeavor to de scribe the process of making a daily! newspaper, taking for a special sub- ject the Witness Printing House, where this magazine is published. The general appearance of a news- paper has no little to do with its suc- cess. It should be neatly and clearly printed, so that it may be read with ease and pleasure. This depends chiefly on the mechanical workmanship. Good paper is also a desideratum, but then it must not be expensive, and need not be made as if tc last for all time, as from its nature the life of any single number of a newspaper is short, although in the continual .succession of numbers, day after day, there is nuch of permanency about an established jour- nal. A daily newspaper is the world's history of one day to be read on the same day or the next, and too often forgotten on the third ; and to habitual news readers news forty-eight hours be- hind the date is almost as ancient history, and only interesting as a mem- orial of how the people lived so long ago. There is hardly any portion of the world which has not been ransacked for material of which to make cheap paper. The "American Encyclopaedia" gives the following extensive, though r »*' The Daily Newspaper. incomplete, list of substances from which paper has been made : " Acacia, althaea, American aloe or maguey, ar- tichoke, asparagus, aspen, bamboo, banana, basswood, bean vines, blue- grass, broom, buckwheat straw, bul- rushes, cane, cattail, cedar, china grass, clematis, clover, cork, corn husks and stalks, cottc " couch grass, elder, elm, esparto grass, ferns, fir, flags, flax, grape vine, many grasses, hemp, hop vines, horse chestnut, indigo, jute, mul- berry bark and wood ; mummy cloth, oak, oakum and straw, osier, palm, palmetto, pampas grass, papyrus, pea vines, pine, plantain, poplar, jjotato vines, rags of all kinds, reeds, rice straw, ropes, rye straw, sedge grass, silk, silk cotton (bombax), sorghum, spruce, thistles, tobacco, wheat straw, waste paper, willov,', and wool." The principal materials are : " i , cotton and linen rags ; 2, waste paper ; 3, straw ; 4, esparto grass; 5, wood ; 6, ca le ; 7, jute and manilla." In Canada, the prin- cipal ingredients used in the newspaper are a mixture of cotton rags and bass- wood ; although from a very prevalent habit amongst some of chewing paper, it might almost be presumed that tobacco was also commonly used. The process of converting these diff"erent ingredients into pure white paper is a most interest- ing one, but we shall pass on to other materials used in making the newspaper without further notice. i The central idea in the printing pro- cess is the movable type from which the impression, which we call printing, is made. Types are composed from an alloy known as type metal. Its chief ingredient is lead ; antimony is added to make it more stiff, and tin to give it toughness. A very small quantity of copper is sometimes added to give it a still greater degree of tenacity, and in some cases the ordinary type is faced with copper through the agency of the galvanic battery, — an expensive opera- tion, but one which adds greatly to the durability of the letters. A type has •* small pica," then " long been described as a small bar of metal, with the letter in relief upon one end, as in the illustration, by which, also, it will be seen that the letter on the type is reversed, so that the impression will appear on the paper as we see it. T3'pes are of a uniform height, ninety-two hundredths of an inch being the invariable height of all types, and of everything used to print along with types all over the world. They are of various sizes, from the letters two or more feet across, used in pbsters, to the minute type only seen in the very small- est editions of the Bible, or in margi- nal notes. The largest size commonly used in the present day is " pica," of which 71.27 lines go to a foot. The next smaller is with 80 lines to a foot primer" (with which this article is is printed), with 89.79 line to a foot ; then "bourgeois," 1 00.79 linestoa foot ; "brevier," 1 13.13 lines to a foot; " minion " (with which the Witness is principally printed), 126.99 lines to a foot ; "nonpareil," half the size of " pica ;" and " agate " (with which the Witness advertisements are set), 160 lines to a foot. Pearl. MHrhliiery now do«a nearly every pnrt of Ubor, thnii shyIiiv tlin Agate. MHohinery now does nearly every part of labor, thui ti%r- Nonpareil. Machinery now doea nearly every part of labor, tbas Minion. Machinery now does nearly every part of labor, Brevier. Machinery now does nearly every part of Long Primer. Machinery now does nearly every part Small Pica. Machinery ^w does nearly every Pica. Machinery now does nearly Thk Dah.v Newspapf.r. There are also several smaller sizes which are used for special purposes only, as for Bibles. These are *' pearl," "diamond," and "brilliant," Xhe last almost a microscopic type. . The difterent letters of the alpha- equal to a thousand such square types. A line of this article measures seven- teen cms, and there are fifty-five lines to a column, thus a full page contains 1,870 ems, for which a composi- tor would usually be paid forty-four • ••■ : 9 ■MM! il IT -«• U) I' @ % a a -: H H 'A CK H H $ £ «Cl.l a cm 1— 'A c /!•: X V w — 'i em Sent 1) (c ^•. a-. A If 1' n M T U C. 0 W \ II (• E V 0 K s N V II I K I. M N Y R !• ■ V li s r V w X Z J 1 ) X 7. .1 V hoir ■pact. m ' UPl'ER CASE. (1 1 : 5 > III 4 cm ■pace, space . j V c - 1 I i 1 i 3 1 M^ 1 - 1 s i> 1 i ^ 1 i ! .n .1 n 1 i ■■ '^ _ \ : i • ff 1 9 ' (l 0 1 p I V 1. ■■' ;, I) y i' \i' . £11 1 Km quadi. 1 quadi. [ 1 : ■ 1 u 1 f 3 8:1 ■;iiiCG. ' * a ", ■- ■ ,. .» • (Jiimlrats. ■ • - LOWER CASE. bet vary in thicknes.s. The m, which, whether capital, lower-case, or italic, is nominally square in body, — that is, just as broad as the line is deep, — is taken in America as the basis of measuring the quantity of matter in a page, and, thus used, is written " em." The unit of measurement is a thousand '* ems," which means an amount of matter cents. Every one who reads knows that some letters are used more frequently than others. For the ordinary class of English work, the relative ratios of the letters, as nearly as can be calculated, are as follows : — y, 1, k, j, q, x — 3 ; b, v — 7 ; g. P» w, y— 10 ; c, f, u, m— 12 ; d, 1 — 10 , h, r— 30 ; a, i, n, o, s— 40 ; t — 45 ; e— 60; inall,532. The "fonts," or supplies Thk Daily Newspaper. 7 of single styles of type, are made of all sizes, from two or three pounds to thousands of pounds, according to the plete lines at the end of a paragrpah, while the " spaces," which vary from the thickness of a hair to the width of the letter «, make the spaces between words, The larger spaces are all multiples of the m, which is square, and are there- fore called quadrats, or quads. With a pair of these cases before him, the compositor begins his work. His " copy " (the reading matter lo be set in type) lies before him on the right hand side of the upper case, which is very seldom used. He has in his mind a phrase of the article he is setting, and picks up the letters om by one, placing them in turn in a composing " stick," which he holds in his left hand. He does not pick the letters from their boxes at random, but, as a matter of habit, his eye searches out a particular letter that lies in a position to be grasp- ed before his hand reaches it. He never looks at ti.e face of a letter to be SETTTNG TYPK. quantity needed. Before the types are used they are placed in two " cases," called respectively the "upper" and " lower," which are placed on a stand or " frame." The upper case is d'vjded into ninety-eight boxes of equal size, in which are placed the CAPITAL and SMALL CAPITAL letters, as in the plan given, by which the position of each letter and character may be seen. The lower case has fifty-four compart- ments of different sizes, in which are the " lowercase " letters, spaces, quadrats — commonly called " quads " — and other prime necessities for a printing ofiice. The quadrats are pieces of metal lower than the type, and are used for filling out blank spaces, such as the incom- MAKING "PI.' sur^ of what it is, but only at the notch, or " nick," at one side at the bottom, which must invariably be placed up- 8 The Daily Newspaper ward or towards his thumb in the stick. With the nicks down the words would look as follows : j^o JI3BP ?qis Mi;q 8Bsa Xon mns) sjBup ou Xonj IJOBp* When a line is completed it is " jus- tified,"— that is, the spaces between the words are increased or diminished, so that each line will end with a word or a syllable. An ordinary-sized stick will contain thirteen lines of the size of type in which this article is set ; and when the stick is full, then comes one of the most unsatisfactory duties for novices — that of " emptying " it. There will be in the stick some two hundred different pieces of metal. Lifting them out of the stick in one piece is a precarious pro- ceeding. The boy in the illustration has evidently failed in the attempt, as do most beginners. The result of such a slip is " pi," which is made by no stated rules, but in numberless ways. A common work for beginners is setting up the " pi," which, when set up, looks like this : heq ae tti d, mc cu bah, tchi ooh hi jz. vbcmwp ; " — Mkc 3 : - hx. i.r ta wsmt Hmchzuo'zevflecf ^Oygsu ,s — qyukegoi'?h fiy a/i;« 0 br ,h ae6 ij gss off t'eer xo a /pgt ro ,ral name given to every young lady who has had charge of that depart- ment for the last ten years or more. Should a gentleman take her place for :he nonce, he is called Mr. Gray. As soon as the papers are ready they are counted out to the newsboys, each of one after another, the paper* are handed to them almost as rapidly as tickets at a crowded concert-room. Often they are snatched from under the boy's arm ; but no matter, without any system of book-keeping, or even a book of origi- nal entry, each customer will be told the exact amount he owes at any time, and without a moment's hesitation. These newsboys sell from one to twenty dozen copies daily. They pay for the Witness eight cents a dozea, and sell thematacent each. Thus the newsboy's income will average from four cents to eighty cents per day — the latter no" in- considerable sum in these hard times. i6 The Daily Newspaper. Although unkempt looking, rough in manner, boisterous and unmannnly in speech, thfire is often much that is good in the newsboy, and Mr. Beatty, of the Witness office, keeps a sharp eye after their character and interests. About once a year the office gives them a dinner, or something of the sort, which they attend as one man, or, more properly, as one boy or girl, for some of the " newsboys" are girls. It is one of these occasions which is shown in the picture. The boy stand- ing with his arms full and legs crossed has just been informed that he could "pocket," and now wants to have his picture taken. Much of the business once done by the newsboys has been taken away by the fruit dealers, grocers, and confection- ers throughout the city, most of whom have regular customers to supply. To these the papers are sent by four carts built for the purpose. They are shown in the picture of the building, some of them in process of being laden and others departing with their loads. During the day the number of papers to be sent to each dealer is plainly marked on prepared labels, on which are printed the name and address. These are arranged in order according to the route they are to be taken. As soon as the papers are printed, they are rapidly and securely tied up in bundles, with the label exposed, for tr . carrier ; and in a few minutes after the paper is sent to the press the four carts are swiftly carr^ ing them to all corners of the city. Each driver has a shrill and peculiarly sounding whistle, which is blown immediately before each dealer's door is reached ; the bundle is thrown on the sidewalk as the horse dashes by unchecked, and the contents distributed amongst the crowd of customers sure to be waiting for their Witness. Again, some of the parcels have to be made up for the towns, to which they are sent by railway, through the agency of the Express office. Almost every tov. n in C'^nada on the ra.iwa/ rec nves its bundle of papers, and as each new railroad is opened the de- mand for ihe Daily Witness to be sent in this manner increases. A large number also go by mail to the re- mote parts of the country, and in glancing over the mailing lists the per- son most conversant with the geogra- phy of Canada would be obliged to confess that a very large percentage of the names he would there meet was entirely unfamiliar to him. The manner of addressing papers adopted in the Witness office is to print the names and addresses, with the date when the subscriptions expire, directly on the papers themselves, in red ink. This method has several disadvantages, but these are counter- balanced by the fact that when once the name is printed it can never come off, as is the case when addresses are printed on little slips of colored paper, and then pasted on. In either method the subscribers' names are first set up in columns, under their respective post- offices, these offices being arranged alphabetically for facility of reference. It will be noticed that the post-office is only printed once, and then in large heavy type, the subscribers' names following it in the column. Five of these columns, containing on an aver- age two hundred names, are placed in a "chase" and locked up. There are altogether in the office some three hundred ana fifty of these chases constantly in use. They have to be continually revised, at which from iwo to ten men are constantly engaged. When the mailing time comes the chase which is to be used is inked and placed in the mailing machine, which is shown in the engraving. The machine is worked by the operator's foot. A paper is put under the hammer, as shown, and the treadle being pressed the name in the chase beneath is plainly stamped on the paper. Only the The Daily Nf.wspapkk. «7 first paper of each parcel has the name of the post-office as well as that of the subscriber. When all the papers going to one post-office have been stamped, they are tied in one parcel and that with the name of the post-office being uppermost, the general address of the vvholc is known. When the parcel arrives there it is opened, and the postmaster makes the further distribu- tion. ADDRKSSING MACHINE. Those who read this account will imderstand how it is that sometimes papers go astray. It would be won- derful if, out of nearly a hundred thousand names always in type at the Witness office, while changes are constantly I sing made in the lists, there were not some mistakes, and it is creditable to the system adopted by newspaper publishers that the number is comparatively so small. As V U have been observed, the type from which the Witness is printed when in the turtles assumes a round- ed shape. Readers of that paper know that on many occasions it is embellished with \v6od cuts, and that wood engrav- ings are ordinarily cut on a flat surface. 1 hey may have wondered how the dif- ficulty is got over. In the Witness all the engravings arc elcctrotyped. To perform this operation an impression of the engraving is first made in a sheet of wax by means of a powerful press. The wax is so fine and the pressure so great that the finest lines are repro- duced The wax is then blackleaded with graphite, made especially fine for the purpose, and the waxen plate is in- serted in an battery in which is a strong solution of copper. In a few hours a thin film of copper, the exact counterpart of the engraving, is formed. This is laid on its face in a hot iron pan and over the back a covering of tin foil is placed to give it consistency, the heat causing it to melt and fill all the finer interstices of the engraving. Over this again is poured a " backing" of lead or type metal, which is shaved down to the exact thickness required. This is again backed with wood, to raise it to the height necessary for printing. This wood has been curved to the shape of the press and the electrotype is bent to correspond. Some papers stereotype the whole form — a shorter process, but one impracticable for an afternoon paper in editions, as, in the latter case, even fifteen minutes' delay would be more than could be spared. Thus having disposed of the mechan- ical branch of printing, we will next resort to another matter of the greatest importance to a daily newspaper — that of advertising. The Daily Witness is sold at a cent a number, a sum which hardly pays the cost of paper alone ; so that out of the advertisem.ents inserted must be met the expenses for printing, publishing, editing, etc. If an ordi- nary newspaper, published in a small city such as Montreal practically was twenty years ago, be examined, it will be found that nine-tenths of the adver- tisements, measured by the space oc- cupied, come under one of the following categories : advertisements of liquors and tobacco, of groceries including Id The Daily Newspaper. liquors and tobacco, or of places selling liquors; advertisenjents of theatres and other questionable amusements ; adver- tisements of questiorable medicines ; advertisements of questionable reading matter ; advertisements of other quack- eries. To avoid all such was the firm determination of the Witness from the beginning, so that it had, as it were, to create its own advertising business. Another custom against which it set its face was that of using large and varied type in advertisements, seeinp that when all do this they neutralize each other in point of prominence, and get much less value out of their space, — be- sides making a very ugly and vulgar looking paper. It was held that among advertisements printed in uni- form type, a small number print- ed prominently would be worth a great deal to those who chose to pay for them, and more in proportion to the fewness of them. This end was gained by charging double to all who thought the prominence worth the price. In- stead of putting difficulties in the way of making changes in advertisements, the Witness does its best to get the advertisers to put in new advertise- ments every day, believing that were this to become universal the advertis- ing columns would be as much studied as the reading columns. Here are one or two points not understood by all advertisers : one, that it is of no advan- tage to draw attention to commodities that are not worth th noney they are sold for. If purchase!., are disappoint- ed, the more attention drawn to the goods the worse for the business, — those swindling concerns that live on first transactions always excepted. An- other thing is that it is better to have an advertisement where it will be look- ed for by those wanting the article than to have to draw the attention of every- body to it. To get people into the habit of looking into certain quarters for certain things should be the pri- mary object of all advertisers and ad- vertising mediums. Some Montreal men are proving adepts in the art of advertising and making it very profit- able, while, on the other hand, there is no way of throwing away money faster than by unwise advertising. Some idea of the amount of business which is done in advertising may be obtained from the fact that in 1877-78, ANSWERING AN ADVERTISEMENT^ one of the dull years, twenty-four thou- sand two hundred and ninety advertise- ments were received in the Witness office, a daily average of seventy-nine. This was obtained almost without any canvassing. A business that depends largely on canvassing must necessarily adopt prices that will cover canvassers* commission. There are many traditions in the Witness office in regard to remark- able answers to advertisements. A gentleman, one bright summer's day, lost a favorite canary, and hurried to the Witness office to make his loss known. His advertisement was immediately sent up to the composi- tors' room to be set up, and while this was being done the bird flew in through the window and perched himself on the case immediately in front of the young man who was putting the advertisement into type. Birdie was caught, and soon the The Daily Newspaper. 19 owner was happy again. It is well that all lost articles do not, in a similar manner, find their way into printing offices, as the character of the profession might then be subject to suspicion. , The subject of curious advertisements is an endless one, and has been fully entered into in Sampson's " History of Advertising." There is the kind in which the sentences are, to say the least, ambigious, as that of the lady who advertised for a husband "with a Roman nose having strong religious ten- dencies." Then there was " to be sold cheap, a splendid gray horse, calculated for a charger, or would carry a lady with a switch tail," — hardly as curious an individual as the one spoken of in the following announcement : " To be sold cheap, a mail phaeton, the property of a gentleman with a movable head as good as new." A travelling companion to these would be the following : " To be sold an Erard grand piano, the property of a lady, about to travel in a walnut wood case with carved legs." But what can compare with the specimen of humani- ty referred to by a chemist in the request that " the gentleman who left his stomach for analysis will please call and get it, together with the result! " The insertion of marriages is of early date, they first appearing as news, and in certain respects were much more satisfactory than those now given, as for instance, the one in the Daily Post j Boy of February zist, 1774: "Married, yesterday at St. James' church, by the Right Rev. Dr. Hen. Egerton, Lord Bishop of Hereford, the Hon. Francis Godolphin, Esq., of Scotland Yard, to the third daughter of the Countess of Portland, a beautiful lady of ;^So,ocx> fortune." Sometimes the papers in those days disputed as to the matters of marriages and deaths. The London Evening Post, in April, 1734, said : ' ' Married, — A few days since — Price, a Buck- inghamshire gentleman of near ;^2,ooo per an- num, to Miss Robinson, oi the Theatre Koyal, Drury-lane." At this the Daily Advertiser remarks, a few days later, " Mr. Price's marriage is entirely false and groundless " — a peculiar kind of marriage that. The Daily Journal about the same time as- serts : "Died. — On Tuesday, in Tavistock -street, Mr. Mooring, an eminent mercer, that kept Levy'* warehouse, said to have died worth ;^6o,ooa" But the Daily Post informs the public that " this was five days before he did die, and ^^40,000 more than be died worth." That the principle of protection was known in 1 804 is clearly shown by the following important advertisement : "To be disposed of, for the benefit of the poor widow, a Blind Man's Walk in a charitable neighborhood, the comings-in between twenty- five and twenty-six shillings a week, with a dog well drilled, and a staff in good repair. A hand- some premium will be expected. For further particulars inquire at No. 40, Chiswell street." We will conclude this branch of ad- vestising by one of more recent date from a United States paper, whose frankness is charming : " About two years and a half ago we took possession of this paper. It was then in the very act of pegging out, having neither friends, money, nor credit. We tried to breathe into it the breath of life ; we put into it all our own money, and everybody else's we could get hold of ; but it was no go ; either the people of Keilhsburg don't appreciate our eflforts, or we don't know how to run a paper. We went into the business with confidence, determined to run it or burst. We have busted. During our con- nection with the Observer we have made some friends and numerous enemies. The former will have our gratitude while life lasts." This was inserted in the ^ace re- served for death notices, and really deserved some obituary poetry. During December and January the department in a newspaper office busy above all others is the one where the subscriptions are received and the lists attended to. The immense amount of work which comes under this head has been pre- viously referred to. A few statistics will render it more clear. During the TiiK Daily Nkwsi'AI'kk. COUNTING ROOM. „',*' I, year ending February, 1877, twenty-two thousand seven hundred and seventy- three money letters passed through this department in the Witness office, while as many more, having reference to changes, instructions, giving advice, . etc., were attended to. Some of these letters are of an extraordinary nature. , In one instance, on a day when some eight hundred money letters poured into the department, the writer signed his name after the manner of an enigma. . It was interesting, but out of place. People sometimes send letters with the statement, " Of course you know my name, as you sent me a circular," or something similar. Others sign their names without giving any post-office address, while many again give two addresses, one at the head and the other at the foot of their letters. Some- times the amount required to be sent is enclosed with no other intimation ; but more frequently still the letters, names and all, are sent without the money. By an ingenious method all money letters which 'c<^me into this depart- ment are numbered, the amount received and the page of cash book where enter- ed marked upon them, and then filed away in books of one hundred, which are bound together, so that any particular letter can be turned up in an instant and referred to. The cash book is ruled so as to give a column for the Daily Witness, Weekly Witness, Northern Messenger, New Do- minion Monthly, and Aurore, and the total amount ; and sometimes one single letter contains a subscription ' for every one of the papers enumerated, . while a very large proportion have at least two of them. There are a very large number of subscribers who, year after year, take these papers, and not satis- fied with this evidence of good-will, make a point of sending several other subscriptions along with their own. It is always pleasant to the publisher to hear from these, and their letters con- The Daily Newsi'apkr. II stantly recurring, year by year, are like the visits of old friends. It would be impossible to leave this department without a reference to a minor one partially connected with it — that having charge of the premiums. It is desired, as far as possible, to give some return for all favors done. But here arises a difliculty. Most of these favors arc simply because of the good- will of the performers, and any direct re- turn would be anything but pleasing to them. Thus the rule has been made that those who desire to work for prizes must, in some way, indicate their desire, and the manner considered most satisfactory is to have the words " In competition " written on the top of all letters containing money intended for the prizes. The names of those who send such letters are entered in a sepa- rate book ruled in columns, and the remittances are recorded one after the other, so that when the last is sent in the total can. be checked in an instant. The number of prizes given in a year is nothing inconsiderable. The following is merely a partial list of what were sent outin the winter of 1 877-78 : — 236 pairs of skates ; 30 gold lockets; 125 gold rings ; 40 photograph albums; 82 Pool's weather glass and thermome- ter combined ; 6 magic lanterns ; 4 McKinnon pens ; 298 chromos of Lady DufFerin and 327 of the Earl of Dufferin. A new and growing department in the Witness office, but quite unique as regards daily newspapers, is the one where the wood-engravings are made. Ne^ct to the reporter, whose materials, except those carried in the head, con- sist of a cedar lead-pencil, a few sheets of paper and a penknife, his are the least troublesome and expensive used in almost any line of business. To bring out all the beautiful effects ob- tainable in wood-engraving the only tools used are about thirty " gravers* tools," most of them triangular in shape, ground down to a sharp point. The material used is boxwood, cut across the log, joined in small pieces so perfect- ly that the place of junction cannot be distinguished, and polished to a perfect state. On this the design to be follow- ed is drawn. The engraver may either be an artist or not. If an artist, he GRAVER. lOOLS will, as he pursues his work, alter and improve an imperfect drawing in its minor and imperfect details, as may be necessary ; putting in a little light here, darkening a shade there, and almost in- variably turning out a pleasing picture. I*" not an artist, he will " follow his copy, even if it goes out of the window," as a compositor would say, copying beauties and defects with the same unconcern, and producing a picture even from a good drawing with as little spirit or soul as the block on which he works — a " wood-cut, " not an " engraving." It will be understood that all wood- engravings are made in relief, that which is to be printed being allowed to remain, the lights being cut away. If this were merely all, the work would not be very difficult ; but more is required. The block must be lowered at places to give very light and delicate shades and that the edges of the shades may not be harsh and coarse, for the press is not naturally a discriminating machine, and unless everything is very near perfection, little aid can be given by it. But, nevertheless, the press- man is required to assist the engraver, and to do this properly he also must be an artist. By placing small pieces of tissue paper, or, sometimes, something coarser, under the electrotype here and ftS The Daily Newspaper. there where needed, he will cause it to rise and greater pressure to come on some portions where greater distinctness is required than at others. This is call- ed "underlaying." More perfect work than is possible in newspapers is ob- tained by "patches," as they are called, pasted on the " tympan," or the sheet which presses on the face of the engrav- ing, a process called, in contradistinction to the other, " overlaying." There are now three engravers in the employ of the Witness office, and by one of these, Charles Wilson, a deaf-mute, the sketches which illustrate this article were made, with three exceptions, which the reader will have no difficulty in de- termining. Most of the pictures were engraved by him and his confreres^ others being executed by an etching process on zinc without the use of wood at all, or, indeed, of any engraving process, which we cannot now further refer to. All matters in regard to the news- paper are in interest subordinate to the editing, to which everything is in all ways subsidiary. Who or what is the mysterious "We" whose opinions have such weight, and who appears to be pos- sessed of all knowledge .'' Sometimes there is little mystery about it, as when the public are informed that "yester- day we received the finest cucumbers We ever ate from Mr. Gardner ; " or when it is announced that "the public must excuse the small quantity of edi- torial matter and the mistakes in our paper of last week, as we were laid up With rheumatism." There is no poetry about a " we" who eats cucumbers or is ttoubled with rheumatism. But the candid impersonal opinions of a news- paper are usually of great weight and value, and enhanced by the imperson- «ility of the writer. That this should be the case requires no discussion. A newspaper office is the centre of information on current topics. The news gravitates to this centre as naturally as riches to a wealthy man. Thus the writer should be well-informed and be the best able to give a correct judgment on matters of general interest. Then the fact that the argus-eyed press the country over is watching his utterances closely has a tendency to cause much greater care in the expression of views than is the case in ordinary conversation, or in public addresses which will be heard and for- gotten. But let a writer in a paper which has the reputation of being im- partial make a mistake of consequence, and he has many correctors before the day is over. On the other hand, there is a very great disadvantage under which many papers labor. They are the " organs " of some political party, and instead of being advocates of truth, are advocates of truth only when it suits the " party." It is strange that such papers are often blindly followed, although the followers generally ima- gine that they are the leaders. Suffice it to say, while on this mat- ter, that the editor of a metropolitan daily newspaper is an impersonal in- dividual, or individuals, who never can be seen. His functions, however, are divided, and every one who visits a newspaper may find the person he wants. The reception of visitors is one of the most engrossing duties of the editorial chair. Almost daily they come in throngs, for business or for pleasure — to receive advice, but more often to give it — to compliment, but more frequently to complain — some- times, but proportionately seldom, to give valuable information. But the last they do, Sometimes, and all such visitors are gladly welcomed. Usually the busiest looking man on the editorial staff in a newspaper office is the managing editor, on a morning paper known a« the night editor. Every item which appears in the paper except the advertisements must pass through his hands. It is his duty to see that the copy is sent in in good form and grammatically correct. He prepares the telegrams for publi- The Daily Newspaper. 2J CONNECTING BRIDGE. cation, no inconsiderable duty, requir- ing an extended knowledge, exact and varied information, carefulness, tact and experience, to be properly done. No message, however ambiguous when he receives it, must be ambiguous when it leaves his hands. The contractions must be extended, the wrongly-spelled proper names put right and verified by means of atlas, directory or gazetteer, and on his zeal and ability in no slight measure depends the acceptability of the newspaper to the public. A man of no little consequence in most daily papers is the commercial editor. He needs discretion, shrewd- ness, sound judgment, and above all to possess the highest sense of honor and responsibility. In these days when for- tunes are made and lost in an hour, when farmers consult the newspapers as to the time to sell, and business is conducted at a feverish heat, it is necessary that all important commercial transactions be promptly and correctly reported in the daily papers. To do this properly is a matter of great difficulty. " Bulls " and " bears " are not over-scrupulous in playing a joke on a reporter sometimes, when they have an end in view, and unless the com-> mercial editor of a paper is well up to his work he and his constituents will be often lead astray. He is supposed to be well versed in every topic of the commercial world, in stocks and pro- duce, railroads, steamboats, dry-goods, hardware, and everything whereby men make gain. The exchange editor of a newspaper is a man with an eye which just covers a page of print, no matter what the size. Through his hands pass all the news- papers received at the office, except, perhaps, those on special subjects, which may go to the different editors. He is usually armed with a huge pair of shears, and as he rapidly opens one paper after another, falling on some- thing here and there of interest or prob- able interest, it is cut out for revision and perhaps republication. He is the " paste and scissors " editor so much talked and read about, but has no little responsibility in making a paper read- able and " news)." From the force of education or habit he knows exactly where to look for the kind of infor- mation he requires, and a single rapid glance over a page tells him at once if there is anything there for him. He is naturally well-informed in all matters interesting the country outside the city he is in, and thus becomes an authority on local politics. The ubiquitous members of a daily newspaper staff are the city reporters. The education of habit can hardly go further than is shown in their lives. Unconsciously they are drawn to where some event is happening, or about to happen, and if the reporters are on the qui vtve, but little need escape them. Gathering information is as much a matter of habit as the duties of the table. A reporter cannot stray along the street without finding some- thing to make a note of, and the note is made in his mind if not in his book. ' ■ ; '. .■ «4 The Daily Newspaper. WAITING FOR THE EDITOR. His perseverance is unmeasurable, his tact perfect, his courage undoubted, and his audacity — perhaps '\e least said of this the better ! But i ..ust be of a very peculiar nature — there must be no swagger about it. A reporter should not be what is best described by the vul- gar term " cheeky." Such a one will never succeed. He must rather have a quiet determination which will over- come all obstacles, together with a mod- est demeanor and sufficient self-con- fidence " not to stand any nonsense ; " be fluent of speech and speak with authority when he has anything to say; have a perfect knowledge of men and things of interest, and be an easy, rapid and fluent writer. It may be said that such a man would be a pa igon of ex- cellencies. However this may be, a first-class reporter is not often met, and seldom remains a reporter very long, except under specially favorable cir- cumstances, for the opportunities to pursue other occupations, if he be a man of good character, are not few. But once a reporter, the reporting spirit never leaves him. The occupa- tion is so full of variety and interest, that the mind constantly reverts to it. He has plenty of drudgery also. Sitting up till midnight or daylight to make a good resume of some dry speech, is not pleasant work ; digesting long and complicated reports, and many other duties, are mere drudgery, and form no small fraction of his duties. To these, however, are added the ex- • citement belonging to the work of a de- tective who is employed in searching" out hidden things ; that of a lawyer ex- amining and cross-examining a witness in order to arrive at the truth ; of a judge weighing the evidence from all sides to come to something like a satisfactory decision on troublesome questions. It may be thought that this is an ideal view of a reporter, and that the reality- is never met with in real life. But the ideal has often been reached, and during the comparatively short life of the Wit- ness there have laeen connected with ft in this and other capacities gentlemen whose names rank with the highest in commercial and professional life. The ranks of the press in England, France, and the United States, as well as Canada, are constantly being infringed on to fill those of legislators, business men and authors. There is one thing The Daily Newspaper. «S (fonnectied witli reporting which always has had a tendency to lower it in the public estimation. It has been con- sidered a means of providing men of ability, but lax in morals and irregular in habits, a means of obtaining a pre- carious livelihood. This has made the dangers to be met with in this course of life very great, because of the associ- ations surrounding those engaged in it, and at one time it was supposed to be almost impossible to be a reporter and a well-living man. But the days of " Bohemianism " have passed in Can- ada, and for years there has but very seldom been a reporter on the Witness who was not at the same time a total ab- stainer from all that intoxicates. We might mention very many inter- esting instances, showing under what difficulties information is sometimes obtained, how " secret" meetings are reported in full, and how but very little that reporters want to know is hid, but space will not permit. We will now rapidly run through the Witness office. It occupies two large, three-story buildings, onefronting on St. Bonaventure street, Montreal, and the other extending back almost to Craig street in the rear. These two build ings are united by an enclosed space, which is utilized as an engine-room and storehouse. This portion is cover- ed with a glass roof to give light to both of the buildings, which are con- nected by bridges ornamented with flowers and musical with the songs of birds, as suggested by the engraving. Entering by the front door from St. Bonaventure street is the business office. Ascending the large staircase shown, the editorial and reporting rooms are reached. In the latter is the library for the use of the Witness employees, containing over one thousand volumes. These books are lent free to all engaged in the office desirous of reading them. The principal English, American and Canadian papers are also kept on fyle. On the same flat is the correspon- dence department, — in which young ladies do most of the work, — the en- graving department, the editor of the AuRORE, and the desk of the me- chanical manager. Going up stairs still higher, the " news" room is reached, where the compositors of the Daily Witness perform their duties. The managing editor and the proof- readers monopolize a corner of this room. Crossing one of the bridges previously referred to, the electrotyping department is seen occupying a par- titioned-off corner of the very large and airy "job" office, where rret'ie com- THE MHRAPY. a6 The Daily Newspaper. JOHN DOUGALL. positors of the Dominion Monthly, and where any amount of panaphlets, books, and of job work is turned out each year. Taking the hoist we descend to the next floor, which is occupied by the binding and folding room. Here also the mailing lists are kept and scores of "chases" full of names are to be seen, as well as the ma- chines for mailing the papers. This room is the one shown in the illustration of the dinner to the newsboys, the tables, however being covered with something, to them, more attractive than sheets of pamphlets, while the walls are draped with the national flags. This room has been formally devoted to any reunions the employees may decide to hold for their own entertainment. Descending still another story, we reach the press- room, where the huge eight feeder, nine- teen feet high, thirty feet long and six broad, is turning out sixteen thousand printed sheets an hour. The double building occupies 7,300 feet of ground and 20,400 feet of flooring, besides cellarage. In all there are one hundred and twenty-eight persons employed within these walls. In the busi- ness department there are ten ; in the editorial and reporting thirteen ; three engravers ; four in the pro- motion and correspon- dence department ; thirty- five compositors on the Daily Witness, including foremen ; four proof-read- ers and copy-holders ; two electrotypers ; thirteen job printers ; eighteen folders and binders ; four despatch- ers; three compositors to keep the mailing lists in order; fifteen pressmen; one engineer, and four drivers for delivery to city dealers. Besides these there are a host of others, a part of whose sustenance is obtained from the Witness. News- boys, carriers, dealers, correspondents, telegraphic operators, writers, agents and others, all make a list of no little importance. Female labor is exten- sively used in the offices, there being no less than thirty-seven young women employed. Amongst all the employees there has grown up a commendable esprit de corps, which is much to be admired. There are but few changes in the personnel of any department, and the good feeling amongst all has much to do with the general efficiency of the establishment, and will conduce to make it still more prosperous and useful. So much has been said about'the Wit- ness office that there is little room for the Witness itself. It will remain a lasting monument to the zeal of Mr. John Dougall, who is now in New The Daily Newspaper. if ork, endeavoring to engineer the New York Witness to success. Its history has been one of trial, perseverance, but ultimate success all through. It was started in Montreal as a weekly in January, 1846, on a basis then en- tirely novel in Canada. It was de- voted to the advance of religion, reli- gious liberty, temperance, and of all moral and social reforms, and to the education of the people in matters affecting their moral or material well- being, standing entirely alone on many questions. The following, from the opening article in the first number, shows the object for which the paper was started, and the course marked out for it to pursue. * * * "We say good papers, for assuredly the utmost of care should be exercised to keep such sheets as have a demoralizing tendency away from the hallowed precincts of the family •circle. " The Canadian field is comparatively unoc- cupied at present, and, therefore, the importance of sowing good seed early and plentifully can scarcely be over-rated, otherwise it will, doubt- less, soon be filled with tares and thistles." * * * " The power of the press is incalcu- lable ; it is, probablv, the very first element, next to the living voice, ^f general influence ; should not, then the Lord's people make every effort to wield it on His side, and njt tamely abandon it to the god of this world. " " By occupying the field for the Lord, we do not mean, however, the publication exclusively, or even chiefly, of what is called religious matter. We mean that every subject, — History, Science, Education, Agriculture, News, and in a word, all the affairs of life, — should be treated and illus- trated as part and parcel of the Moral and Providential Government of an infinitely great, just, wise, and good (iod, whose crowning mercy is displayed on the cross of Christ. "'I have never wanted articles on religious subjects half so much as articles on common sub- jects written with a decidedly religious tone, ' were the words of Di . Arnold, one of the mister minds of the age, words which the Religious Tract Society of London has appropriately chosen as the motto of a series of volume pub- lications intended to supply the Christian family, and in fact, the world, with the requisite in- formation upon important secular subjects, tinged, or rather embued, with the spirit of pure, undefiled religion, instead of the spirit of infi- delity or licentiousness which has too often per- vaded popular publications hitherto. In fact, they seek to efface the brand of Satan from popu- lar literature, and substitute the stamp of Cnrist ; and is this not a worthy object of Christian am- bition ? For ourselves we would sa_, , that our highest aim is to spend, and be spent, in humbly endeavoring to contribute to the attainment of such an object." \ LOCKING UP " DOMINION " FORM. 7« The Daily Newspaper. At the close of the year the following course was laid down : " It is our intention to carry on the ' Witness ' substantially as it has been carried on during the past year — testifying for great truths as occasions may arise ; acknowledging no sect but Christian- ity, and regarding no politics but those of the kingdom of God ; yet devoting much attention to everything that regards the physical welfare and social improvement of the people of Canada. " This was no idle expression of inten- tion, as the history of the paper to the present time gives evidence. As it was instituted it remains to-day. It is amus- ing to read that in 1864 it began agitat- ing for public baths — which it is agitat- ing for now — and that it began working for a reduction in postage, which soon after it was successful in obtaining. It began publishing pictures in the second number issued, and still gives more space to them than other journals. For several of its early years appeals were made to subscribers to assist it so that it might be able to live and become a success. But the crisis once past it grew rapidly and firmly. It be- came a semi-weekly at the time itadopt- ed first in Canada the cash system of payments, by which it was able to give just twice as much for the money. On the visit of the Prince of Wales in i860, a daily was commenced e.t- perimentally. It was so popular from the first that it was continued. Its cir- culation, which began with hundreds, rapidly grew to thousands. As it be- came prosperous its production be- came expensive. First it was a very small sheet which might easily be sold for a cent with some profit. But as it grew older the necessity for improve- ment became more pressing until it now, in interest and the quantity and value of its contents, excels papers which attain to the proud dignity of selling fewer copies at three cents or more. At first it was printed on a single feeder press in a back office ; now it is printed on the gigantic eight feeder spoken of above. In i860 the weekly pay list amounted to $80, which was paid to sixteen employees ; now it amounts to $925, paid to one hundred and twenty-eight employees. , =: The Northern Messenger was commenced in 1865, as a four-paged semi-monthly, under the title, Cana- dian Messenger. Its circulation then was small, but now it has attained to nearly fifty thousand copies. The New Dominion Monthly began its exis- tence contemporaneously with the Do- minion of Canada, on July ist, 1867. It has not had a very vigorous life until late years, but it seems to have overcome all its hinderances. It is now enjoying much popularity, and a long and useful career is looked forward to for it. The youngest of the Wit- ness publications is L'Aurore, a child of adoption, which is pubished in French, — the only Protestant paper in America in that language. It is under- going its struggle for existence and is weathering the storm bravely, and every day adds to its chance of ultimate success. All these publications are sent forth in the hope that they will be the instruments of good and bless- ing to many. Unless this object had been in some measure fulfilled, it is most likely that none of them would have lived any length of time. They were all, at starting, losing ventures in a monetary point of view, and in that respect have thus far little more than made ends meet ; but in the higher re- ward sought — that of becoming engines of usefulness, they have exceeded all expectation. G. H. F. THE WITNESS PREMIUM LIST. {Continued from second jxi ye of cover.) '9 WHAT KIND POOL'S OF WEATHER WlfX WE HAVE TO-MOUROW ? This question can be Holved by the possessor of one of Pool's Signal Service Barometers with thermometer attached. If not already the possessor of one of these valuable weather indicators, send us $6 in new subscriptions to any of the Witness publications and we will send you one by express with all charges paid. MUSIC HATH CHARMS. By sending us $10 in new sub- scriptions we will send a very good concertina by express, with all charge.! paid. OPERA GLASSES. For f 10 in new subscriptions we will send you Ji first-class Opera Glass. For $13'and$16 in new subscriptions we have two sizes of beautifully finished VIIRE BIRD CAGES | prettily painted and fitted up with perches. We still offer the DOUBIiE-EDGED L.IGHTMNG SAW which, on account of its size and use- fulness, is well adapted for household and general purposes. It is so ar- ranged with holes in the handle that a pole can easily be attached with bolts, so that it may be used for saw- \ ; I ing off the superfluous branches and ^^,; ii^ twigs of a tree . Send us $7 in new subscriptions to the Witness publi- cations and receive the above men* tioned valuable implement. A most necessary article in the kit- chen is an Apple Corer. For one new subscriber to the Weekly Witness, at $1.10, or four new subscribers to the Messenger at 30c. each, we will Bend a SOIilD IVORY APPI.E CORER. FOR YOUR HOUSE WIVES AND DAUGHTERS. If you want to make your wife happy, send us $17 in new subscriptions, and we will send you by express a set of FLUTING, CRIMPING AND SMOOTHING IRONS. WHO WOULD NOT HAVE A PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM f When you can get a mag- nificent one by sending in $7 in new subscrip- tions to the Witness publications, or for $6 you can get one not so finely bound. For $7 we will send something new in the shape of a pretty little ALBUM RESTING UPON AN EASEL. Every boy has a longing for a box of tools, so that on a rainy day he can exercise his ingenuity in making or repairing some article of furniture. For such we now offer a A NO. 1 FAMILY TOOL CHEST v/hich contains Gauges, Screw-drivers, Chisels, Gimlets, a small saw. Tack-lifter, Pruning Knife, an Inch Square, a Measure, &c., &c., all of which fit into one strong handle, and when packed in the box may be carried in the pocket. This val- uable assortment of tools will be sent to any per- son sending us $20 in new subscriptions to the Witness publications. DO YOU PAINT ? By this question we do not mean painting your cheeks, but do you paint pictures? If you d', and have not a good box of paints, send us $6 in new subscriptions to the Witness publications, and we will send you a BOX OF PAINTS, fitted up with all the necessary requirements to fit you to fill the position of head artist to the family. For $7 in new subscriptions we will send you a better box. RINGS WITH STONES. A handsome and most appropriate present for a birthday or New Year'ii gift is a gold ring. For $5 in new subscriptions to the Witness publications we will send a SOLID GOLD KEEPER, while for $10 in new subscriptions we will send a GOLD RING, with PEARLS and C ARNETS, and which reUils at $4. If the 30 THE WITNESS PREMIUM LIST. comiietltonj prefer they can obtain Rings of greater value on equally otlvantageuuit wr jih. \ lady in Bending for any of these BingH should send a piece of thread or pai>er the size of her finger, so that one to fit may be obtained. THE POCKET KNIFE OPEN AND CLOSED. THE "EVER READY" POCKET KNIFE. Fathers and Brothers Read This. The desideratum of every living male is to be- come the possessor of a well stocked and thor- oughly reliable pocket knife. The article which we now offer on such advantageous terms is not only a double bladed knife, but also contains several tools, which will be found to be very handy, and just the thing wanted in an emer- gency. The two engravings will show our readers the appearance and number of blades which the knife contains. The very effective and convenient SCREW DRIVER is hidden by the opened large blade, but is shown in the pic. ture of the knife as closed. The HOOK, can be made useful in sundry ways, such a3 to clean a horse's hoof, pull on the boots, lift a stove cover* &c. The back of the Hook makes a good tack hammer ; while the inside of the Hook forms a small but strong nut cracker. The Punch makes holes in harness, wood, &c., which can be en- larged by its sharp corners. All close into a strong and compact handle. This POCKET- FUL OF TOOLS will be sent to any person who sends us 95 in new subscriptions to the Witness publications. THE LliOYD COMBINATION PEN.HOT.OER is the best, and only practicable combination in the market. It is heavily nickel-plated, and I with ordinary care will Ir st a lifetime. It contains twelve articles in one. Pencil, pen-holder and a patent fountain pen, eraser, penknife, enveloi>e opener, paper cutter, rubber and thread cutter. The knife is made of steel, firmly fastened in place, and can be used for ripping seams, cutting of hooks, eyes and buttons, for erasing blots, and many other purposes. The Combina- tion has no open slots or ends, nor slides, to wear' off the plating and get out of order. When not. in use, the Lloyd may be so closed as to leave nothing but the rubber opened— even the point of the pencil may be turned in and protected ; this could not be accomplished if the pen-holder was oi)en at the ends or sides, as any opening would allow dust, dirt, moisture, &c., to enter. This handy Combination will be sent to any per- son sending us $2 in new subscriptions to any of the Witness publications. THESE CUTS REPRESENT THB LLOTD COMBINATION PEN-HOLDER IN ITS VARIOUS FORMS. THE WITNESS PREMIUM LIST. 3» A HOVABIlOIiO NKOE0MITY. ^ii<:.' iV ■■■'■.l^ '; THE AMERICAN HOUSEKEEPER'S SCAI^E WEIGHS UP TO St4 L.BS. A pair of reliable scales is what every house- keeper should have. The Ghrutian Union says of it: "American Housekeeper's Scale — the most convenient scale we have yet seen for housekeepers is that advertised in this week's issue. It is simple, accurate and cannot readily get out of order. The platform bears directly over the spring, and the nut is adjustable, so that the tare of the dish is had without the use of weights." To any one sending us 86 in new sub- scriptions to the Witness publications we will send one of the above described platform scales. FOR THE LITTLE CtlRLS ONLT. Every little girl has an intense longing for a beautiful doll. Those little girls who desire a large and handsome wax doll to act as head of their doll family can easily earn one for them- selves by canvassing for subscribers to our paper among their friends and relations. SPECIAL OFFER. To any Kttle girl sending us ?6 in new sub- scriptions to the Witness publications, we will send a large and HANDSOME WAX DOLL. This doll is the acme of perfection, and is pos- sessed of all of the virtues that a good little girl's doll should possess. Its hair is of a light golden hue, done up in the latest Parisian style ; the eyes are as blue as the summer sky, its cheeks are suffused with the most modest blushes, and to crown all— wonder of all wonders- from its tiny and well shaped ears hang a pair of the tiniest earings. After obtainiog the doll, of course, you will require to set to work and provide it with a ••trousseau." Now, as a suitable article to accompany the doll in its travels around the nursery, we have a BEAUTIFUL WORK BOX. lined with silk, and fitted ut> with the reciuired scissors, spool and needle case, thimble, &c. This can be obtained by sending us t8 in new subscriptions. Go to work at once and become the happy f)08Hesssor of these pretty articles. (Jet your father or *' big " brother to take you around, and with a few days* work you will obtain the re- quired number of new subscribers to obtain the doll and woA box. MAKE TOUR HOMES BEAUTIFUL. Send us ^■lO in new subscriptions to any of the Witness publications, and we will send you by express a handsomely chased and satin finished electro-plated ICE PITCHER. The pitcher is treble plated, and manufactured by Simpson, Hall & Millar, With ordinary use this article will last a lifetime. PATENT BUTTER COOLER. For 825 in new subscriptions we will send a very heavy plated and elaborately finished butter cooler, forming altogether a most nsefnl as well as ornamental piece of table ware. 3* THE WITNESS PREMIUM LIST. liAST. THOUOH BY WO MBANH LBAHT, ia the Htandard WoRnasTEii Qijakto Diction- ary, illuMtrated and unabridged. It is a massive volume of 1,854 quarto-pages, handsomely lx)und n library Hheep, and is enriched by more than a thounanil excellent articles on synonymes, in which five thousand synonymous words are treated, and accurately and conciHely illustrated by Hhort and well chosen examples ; it contains more than one hundred thousand words in its vocabulary, with their pronunciation, definition «nd etymology. To anyone sending us ten new subscribers for one year to the New Dominion Monthly at $2 each (ler annnm, we will send by mail or express his famous and world renowned Dictionary. This offer we make specially to STUDENTS, MINISTERS and TEACHERS, and is one of the most advantageous offers we have ever made. For those who are not acquainted with our paper.i we will state that the prices of the WlT- NEHa publications are as follows : Daily Witness at $3.00 per an. " to ministers and teachers. 2.30 " Weekly Witness 1.10 " " to ministers and teachers. 85 " l^Ew Dominion Monthly 2.00 " " to ministers and teachers. 1.50 " New Dominion Monthly and 1 o 60 ♦' Weekly Witness to one address | " L'AuROUE, (French Weekly) .... 1.00 '' .Northern Messenger 30 " " 10 copies to one address 2.60 " " 25 " " " 6.00 " 50 " " " 11.50 " GENERAL DIRECTIONS. IMPORTANT. Every letter for these prizes must be marked " In Competition." The money in all cases must accompany the order. Send full prices for publications, deducting no commissions . Ministers' and teachers' subscriptions are not received in competition for any of the prizes. Send at once for samples and instructions. JOHN DOUGALL 6l SON, Montreal. FREE PAPERS TO ALL. ThB WITNESS JPubUcatlons to tht close of the year Free to New Subacrihera for one year. To give our workers every opportunity to gain one or more of the prizes mentioned above, wf make the following offer : We will send our pub- lications from the date of the subscription to th( end of the year» 1878, free to all new subscribers. Thus, every person paying f 1.10 for a year's sub- scription to the Weekly Witness will receive the paper from now to January Ist, 1880, fot that amount. GENERAL OFFER. Any person sending us two new subscribers to the New Dominion Monthly at $2 each will get a third copy for himself or herself. Any ijerson sending us four new subscribers to the Weekly Witness at $1.10 each, will re- ceive an extra copy for one year. Any person sending us one new subscriber to the Weekly Witness together with his own subscription will receive both copies for $2. Any person sending in one new subscriber to the Weekly Witness at 1.10, or five new sub- scribers to the Northern Messenger at 30c., each, will receive an extra copy of the Nobthkbn Messenger. TO SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. Any .Sunday-school that does not now take the Northern Messenger can procure a suffi- cient number of copies to supply one copy to each family attending the school FREE to the end of the year, 1878. yVlTlS(ESS P'REE JjiECTURES ON AGRICULTURE. The publishers of the Witness have conceived the plan of establishing a Winter Course of Lec- tures on Agriculture. For this purpose they have secured the services of Mr. W. F. Clarke, of Lindenbank, Guelph, formerly editor of the Canada Farmer and of the Ontario Farmer, who will lecture in such parts of the country as may offer him the best openings. The first lecture of the course, entitled '* The Nobility of Agricul- ture," was delivered in the Ontario School of Agriculture, Guelph, Ont. This lecture, and ones which will follow, we propose issuing in the form of an eight paged pamphlet. Those who wish to procure this instructive course of lectures will do well to send a one cent stamp for return postage, and we will send them tke first lecture of the course. JOHN DOUGALL & SON, Montreal. Jin Oven Lei To ihcsc TVorking for c-Jtr Frises. The WiTN KSf:i publications arc favorites with the best people in the community, and on this account are tbo most easily canvjussed for. In prc)»aring our prize list we have tried to introduce articles to suit both younjj^ and old, male and female. The premiums are all of good manufacture, no common trash or worth- less articles having a place on our list. If you can act as canvasser for us do so, but if not please oblige us by handing this to some h»mest, intelligent pei-son, of your acquaintance, whom you think will bo willing to act in your stead. Send money by Post Office Money Order or by Registered Letter. Money may be sent by registered lettoi- at our risk. ( anada [V)stage Stamps taken in small ([uantities, if in good order ; lUT JKJXEY is PiiKKEluiEi), as wc havt> to s:ell the stamps at a loss. Ilemit as often as po.s.sible, as the sooner you remit the sooner will your subscribers it'ceive their papers, and thus they, hy receiving their papers pr(>m])tly, will become an assistance to you. We desire vour aid. and feel confident that there is something in the Diecedinff list that each and every reader can ol)tain with a few hours determined work. Yours, res}>ectfully, JOHN DOUGALL & SON, MONTUKAL, QVBBKV. .'IIMU'CA f. 1)l'l'hiU> •WE -A.K.E isro^w OFrET^iisro-, ^-».s a. i>r,eiviixji^, THE STANDARD WORCESTER (JUAHTO DICTIONARY, ILLUSTRATED AND UNABRIDGED, ffjurn hi:tails at $1000. TO Ji^is^^z: ZPEIE^/Sonsr Sending us ten NEW subscribers to our mil ^fitmmffi tiw#f?fif; An Illustrated Magazine rf 128 pages, at $2.00 per Annum, ve ri-ni m-jnI a eopl) of -thl^ J>lCTJCj>NABY, ivhU'h.for j}uim:i yearSf ?.afi been the Stimdnrd in jmQJjAND as well n.-^ in AMEjEilCA, ■wiiJi nil Jr;.T/^/V'.s.s I'hitrge.^ pou^paid. (f^SAMPLES, and any rurther ini-okmation desired, will be furnished on application by a postal card addressed to JOHN DOUG ALL & SON, MONTREAL. QUEBEC.